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Friday notes is a weekly update from Superintendent Gary E. Maestas on the happenings within the Plymouth Public Schools.
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Plymouth Public Schools School Committee Meetings:
The next Plymouth School Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 18, 2010 at Plymouth Community Intermediate School. The meeting starts at 7:00 P.M.
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They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel.
-- Anonymous
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Plymouth Public Schools Co-Sponsoring an After School Workshop on Responding to Child Abuse
A Community Response: Recognizing, Reporting and Responding to Child Abuse
When: Monday, October 25, 2010, 4:00 to 5:30
Where: Plymouth South Middle School, 488 Long Pond Road, Plymouth, MA, 02360
Sidman Lecture Hall
Who Should Attend?
Law Enforcement, School Resource Officers, School Staff, Social Services, and community professionals who work with children in Plymouth County.
Do you know how to recognize the warning signs of child abuse? Do you know how to respond to a child who discloses abuse? Do you know who to call when a disclosure of abuse is made?
Join us for this free training, refreshments, and get the answers to these questions and more!
Agenda
Welcome:
Timothy J. Cruz, Plymouth County District Attorney
Mandated Reporting:
Carmen Temme, Department of Children and Families
Plymouth County Children's Advocacy Center:
Nicole Richardi, Executive Director
Please register by phone, fax, or email by October 20th, 2010 to: nicole.richardi@state.ma.us
Phone: 1-508-580-3383 x11
Fax: 508-580-0128
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COLLEGE FAIRS:
Plymouth Public Schools' College Fair: over 130 college, university and post-secondary representatives (including the armed services) will be in attendance.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Plymouth SOUTH High School.
46th Annual All Cape College Day Fair: 180 colleges and universities will be represented.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 from 3:30-5:30 at the Barnstable High School Field House in Hyannis
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PSHS NEWS
College Fair - The annual Plymouth College Fair is Tuesday, October 19th at PSHS. We encourage parents and students to attend. Both the cafeteria and the gymnasium are filled with college representatives. In addition, staff at PSHS will be wearing their own respective college t-shirts on Tuesday in honor of the college fair and in order to increase awareness of post-secondary options for our students.
PSHS "Student of the Month" for September is Thomas Addison, a grade 12 student. Congratulations!!
PSATs - Congratulations to all juniors and many sophomores who participated in the PSATs this week at PSHS. This was a first annual event and we were fortunate that the Plymouth Public Schools paid for all students to participate in this national exam. In prior years, the test was conducted on Saturday and was an expense to the student. We are hopeful that this type of initiative will further enhance student's options as they leave PSHS in future years.
Tracy Chevrolet has partnered with Plymouth South High School to award their "Driven Student Award". This award goes to students who consistently go above and beyond, both in their academics and behavior. They serve as role models to other students. The first "Driven Student Award" was awarded on Thursday, October 14th and 16 students were treated to a pizza party. These students are: Alexa Cole, Kevin Cowden, Katya Edson, Tim Elrick, Rebecca Geary, Tommy Giorgio, Lexy Halpin, Christina Jaros, Marisa Kanter, Dylan O'Connell, Andrew Pelzer, Kayla Phakousahn, Anthony Schena, Bobby Sirois, Alex Swiniarski and Wilma Urbain. Plymouth South High School would like to thank Jeff Tracy of Tracy Chevrolet for recognizing these students.
Tech Studies Dinner - Our annual technical studies dinner is Wednesday, October 20th. Guest speaker, Vinny DeMacedo will speak to the group at this annual event which celebrates the involvement by the community in our technical studies program.
Last spring the John Alden Sportsman Club held a fund raiser. This event was in memory of Richard Crowell a beloved member of both the club, as well as the town of Plymouth. This event was held at the JASC and raised $7,000. Because Mr. Crowell was a life long auto enthusiast the members of the club used the funds to purchase auto collision repair tools and equipment to enhance the vocational experience at Plymouth South High School. The tools are being purchased from MAC Tools. Since the tools are being used for educational purposes, MAC Tools is selling the tools at a 50% discount. The total retail purchase value of these tools is $14,000 dollars.
This week the senior cosmetology class will be starting their "Job Shadow". The first term of each year, each student is assigned a salon in which they are to investigate. Once they find out about their salon, they are to call, set up a job shadow appointment, send a confirmation letter and visit the salon for 4 hours. Upon completion of their visit, they are to send a thank you letter and write an essay on their experience. The finale to the project is to discuss their experiences with the class. This is such an important assignment when students are sent out into the 'big world' by themselves.
Marketing Education students were recognized for their research, t-shirt and logo design for Domestic Violence Awareness at a press conference hosted by the Plymouth County Sheriff's Dept. In attendance were: Sheriff McDonald, District Attorney Timothy Cruz, Director of South Shore Women's Center, Kathy Spear, Director of Special Programs, Paul Chiano. and Technical Studies Principal, James Hanna. Research and design efforts took place last June and were voted upon over the summer by a number of agencies and programs located in the South Shore area. The winning design was created by sophomores, Shelby Arnold, Rachel LaFountain, and Elsa McGilvray. It was evident through the design concepts that students grasped this not only on a marketing level but on a critical thinking, and emotional level as well. Congratulations winners!
Rachel LaFountain and Shelby Arnold show off their team's winning T-shirt design for the domestic violence awareness campaign. Elsa McGilvray, not pictured, was a member of the winning team as well. Proceeds from sale of the shirts will benefit the South Shore Women's Center.
Sophomores and juniors in the marketing program at Plymouth South High School traveled to the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department headquarters last week for the unveiling of the winner of the department's domestic violence awareness T-shirt contest.
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Hedge School News
Hedge School received a First Book and Target Read With Me donation for Fall 2010!
This fall, Hedge School received over 900 new books from First Book, a national nonprofit organization, in partnership with national retailer, Target. The students will receive the books at the end of October. The books were donated in celebration of the launch of the new Target Read With Me initiative, which aims to help more U.S children read proficiently by the end of third grade. To celebrate the initiative, First Book and Target donated 1 million new books to elementary schools across the country.
While providing students across the country with access to books is critical in promoting literacy, engaging parents and caring adults in education is
equally important to ensuring our children are academically successful. The Target Read With Me initiative calls upon parents and caring adults to do
their part by pledging to commit to a regular reading schedule with a child. The reading pledge can be accessed by visiting Target.com/reading, via mobile Web browsing or by texting "READ" to Target (827438).
The 900+ books our students received are part of a larger donation in which First Book and Target will distribute up to 2 million books to kids in need.
The first 1 million books are being distributed to celebrate the launch of Target Read With Me, and the second million will be donated once 1 million
pledges have been received.
Thanks to First Book and Target, our students now have greater access to books that enrich their minds and lay the foundation for a successful academic career.
HEDGE SCHOOL CELEBRATES GRANDPARENTS' DAY ON OCTOBER 14th
The students of Hedge School invited their grandparents to visit their classrooms and eat lunch with them on Thursday, October 14th. Grandparents
participated in many different learning activities with their grandchild, including math games, read alouds, mind puzzles and sharing special stories. The annual event concluded with the Grandparents eating a pasta lunch with their grandchild.
HEDGE SCHOOL TIME CAPSULE BURIAL
On October 29th at 1 PM, all former alumni of Hedge, former teachers, and current parents and relatives ARE INVITED to attend our time capsule burial.
The time capsule concludes our 100th Anniversary celebration. Students will be writing to future students of Hedge School to explain school life in
2010. There will be several other items included in the capsule, which will be opened in 2060. Senator Murray, as well as several other guest, will be
attending. We hope that you can join us in this momentous event.
TITLE ONE ANNUAL MEETING
Please attend the Title One Annual Meeting on Tuesday, October 19th from 5:30 - 7 PM. Students will be making homework boxes. Please call 508-830-4348 to register.
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Reminder: 5K Walk for A Child
Come and join in a 5K walk to raise funds for our foster children! Proceeds from the walk will go towards the DCF Kid's Fund, a non-profit organization, that was established to provide extracurricular events and social activities for children in foster care. Money raised will benefit foster children residing in 19 towns within Plymouth county.
- Registration is from 9-11 at Nelson Park, Plymouth Waterfront on Saturday, 10/23.
- 11 A.M. the walk begins at Nelson Park
- 12-3 P.M. join in the events and lunch!
Immediately following the walk will be events and entertainment. Events will include bouncy house, pony rides, arts and crafts, face painting, spin art, karaoke, demonstrations by the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department and the Plymouth Fire Department, raffle, lunch and more!
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Manomet Elementary News
The students at Manomet Elementary School were recently treated to a cultural arts performance entitled "The Power of One." It is an anti-bullying program that includes a series of skits presented by actors who portray what bullying is, what can be done about it, and how every child has the power to report bullying when they see it.
This performance, as well as all of the Cultural Arts programming held at Manomet School, was made possible through the fundraising efforts of the Manomet Home and School Association.
Fourth-grader Kayla Walkup portrays a super hero during a skit at Manomet Elementary School.
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Elementary Schools to Pilot Language Immersion Program
The School Committee unanimously approved a new language immersion program for elementary school students.
The International Educational Systems (IES) Language Foundation will begin offering after-school classes for students in November. Parents must pay for the 24-week program, but scholarships are available for families who cannot afford the lessons.
Carol Ryan, a Plymouth resident and part-time teacher at the Bay Farm Montessori Academy, will coordinate the program.
Seven of eight local schools have agreed to offer the program. All seven have chosen Spanish as the language to be taught.
Studies show children are particularly able to learn new languages while still in elementary school. And this program, with its emphasis on teaching through fun activities, has proven very successful nationwide.
Ryan states: "We're providing children with a connection at this age. and when they get to middle school or high school they study it," Dapper said. "It's the way language should be learned. First, speak it like a baby learns, then read and write it. We provide a base for them. If they start in high school they don't have enough time."
The classes cost $14 a week. Including a one-time registration fee, the program costs $359 for the entire 24-week program.
Click here to see the full story on the new language program in the Old Colony Memorial!
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Plymouth South High School's Personalized Learning Strategies; Reducing Drop out Rates
Students and staff of Plymouth South High School will be sharing their experiences with the Center for Secondary School Redesign in New Hampshire. They will be presenting to the school's freshman academy and advisory program. Personalized learning initiatives, instituted within the last five years at Plymouth South High School,are credited with helping to reduce the school's drop-out rate from 2.3 percent to .9 percent in the last five years.
The freshman academy, which is also in operation at Plymouth North High School, aims to ease the transition for students from middle school to high school. Teams of teachers in core subjects meet daily to review first-year students and their progress, helping to ensure that freshmen who might otherwise struggle do not fall through the cracks and give up on school.
The advisory program teams teachers with small groups of students and allows for a free-flowing forum of discussions on subjects that are not part of the school curriculum. Discussions can range from banking to bullying to plagiarism, but the focus is on providing students with an adult who is personally connected with their lives, someone who can point each student in the right direction when problems arise.
Plymouth South special education teacher Paul Osberg and social studies teachers Patrick Powers and Allison Shaver will join principal Fry and Plymouth South students Steven Whyte, Michael Usher, Thomas Wells, Kari Cannon, Kaleigh Roberts and Hannah Shepherd at the Nov. 15 conference in New Hampshire.
Social studies teacher Allison Shaver and special education aide Maureen Verrengia pose with students who attend their twice-weekly advisory group.
Click here to see the full story in the Old Colony Memorial!
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JUST A REMINDER:
"TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL THAT'S AVAILABLE"
October 21, 2010 2:00pm - 5:00pm Plymouth North HS
Pizza, soda, and cookies will be served*
* and if that's not enough there will be raffles too!
Are you getting the most for your money? Join us and find out how your benefits can work for you!
Take a minute for you! Enjoying some fresh baked pizza, a soda, and/or even a massage!
Are you a full-time employee? Be sure you are taking advantage of all that is available.
Sign up for your 2011 FLEX SPENDING ACCOUNT (an easy way to save between 28% - 34% on your taxes). The deadline to sign up is November 30, 2010. Please see details on the attachment.
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Gary E. Maestas, Ed.D Superintendent
Plymouth Public Schools
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